Chef in Brooklyn, New York

As a Private Chef today, Makani combines her knowledge of Mediterranean, Pan-Asian, and Central and South American cuisine to curate a range of offerings including creative fine-dining, elevated small bites, and nourishing family-style meals for intimate dinner parties and special occasions across California and New York. She specializes in making all of her staple ingredients from scratch to curate light, yet craveable meals. With the focus of whole food in mind, her crowd pleasing dishes are made without additives, and ultimately not only delicious, but good for the body and mind. About Chef Makani: Chef Makani has been working within the culinary space for over ten years, beginning her journey in the Ojai Valley, CA where she was privileged with easy access to high quality, local produce. She fell in love with seasonality and farm-to-table cuisine at Farmer & The Cook, a renowned rustic eatery where she curated holistic meals made with only fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from their neighboring farm. She stayed within the farm-to-table space at Sama Sama, a Bib Gourmand winning Indonesian-inspired restaurant in Santa Barbara that was beloved for its complex slow braised meats and curries, bright, acidic salads and innovative variety of seafood. After exploring more kitchens along the California coastline, Makani became eager to transition into a role that allowed for more customization of meals for her clientele and a closer relationship to local producers and farms. When Covid hit, Makani stepped out of the restaurant space and began private cheffing. To expand her knowledge of locality and seasonality, Makani completed a continuing education program in the land of slow food; Southern Italy. She earned her Masters of Regional Italian Cuisine at the Italian Culinary Institute and Level II Sommelier Certification with Foundation of Italian Sommelier. She returned with a dense knowledge of the art of fresh pasta, artisan and hearth baking, gelato, fresh cheesemaking and charcuterie. Rate: Chef Makani's rate is $100 per hour, but she invites you to message her to discuss how you all can best collaborate to make your upcoming event an extraordinary culinary affair for a budget that that meets the desired project and goals.